In Five Years Time
by howstinsonmetscherbatsky
Summary: -ABANDONED FOR NOW-It's been 5 years since Finn and Rachel last spoke over the phone regarding her Funny Girl audition. There has been no contact between them at all; until now. Finn turns up in the audience of Rachel's Broadway musical in 2018, and the chemistry between them is undeniable. But, with a little help from an old friend, Rachel makes Finn regret letting her go.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Why, hello there! This is my new Finchel fic, entitled In Five Years Time. I have a lot of free time, so 2 fics at a time shouldn't be too hard to handle (I hope)! This is an idea I've had for almost a year but have only now realized how it could work. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy chapter 1!**

She was halfway through the reprise of 'People Will Say' in her final performance as Laurey in 'Oklahoma' when she saw him. Rachel tried to concentrate on the lyrics in order to distract herself from his unforeseen appearance.  
"_Starlight looks swell on us..."_ she sang confidently, but his crooked smile was so eye-catching that she'd almost forgotten where she was. _Finn. After all these years. _For the remainder of the show, she gave her best performance yet, as if avoiding his eyes motivated her in some way.

A lot had changed in five years. Rachel was 23 now, and finishing her second Broadway role. She had played Fanny in Funny Girl for a year and a half, because she was simply exceptional. Then, when she was 21, she auditioned for Oklahoma, and was cast as the understudy to Laurey. Six months after getting the role, she _finally _got to play her dream role permanently. Her professional life had changed for the better, as well as her social life. Kurt, who was now married to Blaine, and herself were still close friends, and he'd often visit her at the theatre. Santana, who was in a serious relationship with Brittany, would call her up regularly for catch-ups. Rachel had even reunited with Jesse St James, although now, he wasn't interested in her romantically. He'd been dating a guy called Jacob for almost a year now, after coming out when he was twenty-one.

The only aspect of Rachel's life that hadn't improved was her dating and love life. She'd been on a few dates with guys occasionally, but nothing had become of them. She'd only had one relationship, if you could classify it as such, since Brody, which was with a guy named Marcus, which lasted six months before he got bored. She hadn't been in love since, well, Finn.  
As Rachel took her final bow on the stage as Laurey, she saw him stand up and give her a standing ovation, his smile enormous, clapping eagerly. Walking off the stage, she felt a sudden relief; he could no longer see her, and vice-versa. She was safe. After hugging her castmates, each of them wishing her luck in her next endeavour, she reached her dressing room.

"Surprise!" Rachel almost fell over from the shock. Standing there in her dressing room were her closest friends. Kurt and Blaine presented her with a bouquet of beautiful flowers, whilst Santana and Brittany handed her a bottle of champagne. Jesse was the first to embrace her in a tight, as the others soon joined in.  
"We're so proud of you, Rachel!" exclaimed Jesse.  
"Thank you so much, but you guys are kinda squishing me!" chuckled Rachel.  
"Rachel, that was phenomenal," said Blaine. "That was your best performance ever!"  
"Even better than when I was your Maria?" laughed Rachel.  
"Well, I wouldn't go that far, you did have a great Tony..." teased Blaine.

They opened the champagne with a pop, and Santana began filling up glasses for everyone. Rachel, however, made her way over to Kurt.  
"Did you invite him?" she said quietly.  
"Who?" Kurt was confused.  
"Don't pretend you didn't see him." Rachel sighed. "_Finn."  
_"I did see him outside, but I honestly didn't know he was coming. Are you okay, Rachel?" Kurt's brow furrowed. She nodded, before grabbing her glass of champagne. A few moments later, there was a knock on her dressing room door. She figured it was probably one of her castmates.

"Hi..." he said, half nervous, half smiling.  
"Finn." Rachel was almost paralysed with fear and nerves. "Uh, what are you doing here?" she breathed in deeply.  
"Well, I was in town, and Kurt mentioned he was going to see you, so I figured I'd come and check out your show... You were amazing." he couldn't look her in the eyes. Everyone else was pretending not to notice Finn's awkward arrival, dancing to the music and talking amongst themselves. "So, how've you been?" he asked, finally looking up into her eyes.

"Uh, in the last five years? Fine, I guess. What about you, what are you up to?" Both could tell how awkward the other felt.  
"Well, I'm teaching now, actually." Finn smiled. Rachel's eyes lit up.  
"Wow, that's amazing, I'm so happy for you!"

There was a lull in the conversation where they just stared and smiled at each other. The chemistry was inevitable between them, even after all these years. Finn finally plucked up the courage to ask Rachel the one thing he needed to ask.  
"So, are you... seeing anyone?" he asked nonchalantly.  
"I, uh..."

Suddenly, Rachel had an idea. She couldn't make Finn think she'd been waiting for him all these years; she had to play hard to get, and seem unavailable to him. That was a good plan, right? Also, Finn wasn't aware of Jesse's sexuality, which made this plan even easier. "Actually, I have a boyfriend." she gestured over to Jesse, who was laughing at something Blaine had just said.  
"J-Jesse St. James?" Finn was stunned. His hope was for them to go for a drink and maybe return to how things were five years ago. It was safe to say his hopes were dashed.  
"Yeah, we've been together for about a year now, I'm really happy." At that moment, Jesse made his way over.

"Did I hear my name?" he said. Rachel suddenly transformed into lovey-dovey girlfriend mode.  
"Yeah, babe, I was just telling Finn about how happy we are together!" Rachel shot Jesse a subtle look, and he squeezed her hand for assurance. He understood, and slung an arm around her shoulder.  
"Finn, good to see you, it's been so long! Why don't you come in, we have champagne if you'd like?" Jesse could sense that Finn was uncomfortable.

"Nah, dude, that's okay, I wouldn't want to intrude, I have to get going anyway. Good to see you, Rachel, but I, uh-" he stopped speaking mid-sentence before leaving.  
"Finn, wait!" called Rachel, walking after him. She slipped a piece of paper in his hand. "This is my new number. If you ever want to meet up for coffee or something, give me a call."

And with that, she walked back to her dressing room. Everyone looked in her direction, as if trying to assess what had just happened. Rachel closed the door slowly.  
"Jesse, I'll explain everything, I promise. Right now, I just think I need to be alone." her voice began to crack.  
"Rachel, are you-" Santana began.  
"I'll be fine. I'll see you all tomorrow, okay, I just need to go home and sleep."

Soon, it was just Rachel, all alone in her dressing room. She sat against the wall, one memory from the past replaying in her mind. The words pulsed inside her head until she could no longer contain the emotion. Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she recalled the occurrence from her sophomore year.

"_I'm not just some guy you met at the music store that you can just blow off. I __don't give up that easy__."_

The situation was painfully similar. She was with someone else, or at least Finn thought. Would he give up this time? Had he given her enough chances? She cried more as she realized exactly what this meant. Rachel had messed up her last chance of happiness with Finn by letting her crazy side take over. Rachel had sabotaged herself. This time, she was afraid they couldn't make things better. She was sure this was the end for them.

**AN: More to come, so if you're excited for that, review, favorite, follow etc.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hiiii! I'm stunned at the response I've had for this story so far. You guys are awesome! You've motivated me to write another chapter, so here's Chapter 2 of In Five Years Time! It was inspired by the lyric 'now my baby's dancing with another man' from Bruno Mars's 'When I Was Your Man'. Enjoy!3**

"So, I have to be your fake boyfriend?" Jesse asked.  
"Only when Finn's around. Tell Jacob he has nothing to worry about!" replied Rachel. The two had met at her apartment the day after Finn's appearance for a coffee. The dark circles under Rachel's eyes told Jesse that his best friend was worried.  
"Wait, I thought Finn was only in town for last night?"  
"Well, I called Kurt this morning and he let slip that Finn's new teaching job after the summer is in New York. So, he's sticking around."  
Jesse sighed. "Okay. But, if you want him back, why are we in a fake relationship?" he was confused to say the least.

"Because, Jesse, he broke my heart! I can't let him think I've been pining for him all these years-"  
"But you have-"  
"Not the point!" Rachel hissed.

She was exhausted. Rachel had been up almost all night crying and tossing back and forth uneasily. Her plan was completely insane, of course, and Rachel knew that. But, if she was going to make Finn realize that he still wanted to be with her, she had to be hard to get. In the past, Finn had always realized how much he loved her when she was with another person. The other person was usually Jesse, which is how she came up with her plan.

"Okay, well have you heard from Finn at all?" Jesse inquired.  
"No, he hasn't called or anything. But Kurt did tell me that he's working at this club or bar over the summer." Rachel suddenly gave him a puppy dog look.  
"No, Rachel. We're not going." But he couldn't resist. "Ugh, fine. But, I'm not kissing you."  
"Ooh, your eighteen year old self would kill you for saying that." she teased. "Thank you. Now, come and help me choose what to wear, I want Finn's mind blown!" she giggled.

Due to the fact she was a Tony-winning Broadway star, Rachel was able to afford beautiful designer clothes. She had a walk-in closet that was pretty huge.  
"So, which kind of look are you gonna go for? Girl next door? Glamorous?" Jesse asked, flicking through the numerous dresses.  
"I was thinking short to be casual, but something a little sparkly." Rachel grinned.  
"I know just what you need."

-Finchel-

It was ten o'clock. Finn had been working behind the bar of 66, a Manhattan nightclub for a couple of hours. It was a Saturday night, and there were already tons of people at the club. Finn enjoyed it, though it could be tiring; there was great music, girls and alcohol (of course, he couldn't drink until his shift ended). He was just serving a very tall blonde woman her third vodka tonic of the night when he saw it. He blinked. Was that...? No, it couldn't have been. There were so many clubs in New York, and she'd chosen this one? He thought he'd been hallucinating, but sure enough, he saw her again, at the other side of the bar. _Rachel. _She looked stunning. Finn couldn't stop staring at her in her little dark blue dress. The little sequins on it sparkled in the disco lights, and he was mesmerized.

Snapping out of it, he accepted the customer's money. She seemed noticeably less pretty as Rachel arrived, as if his interest in the blonde had suddenly vanished. He tried to avoid eye contact with Rachel, but soon enough, she appeared in front of him.  
"Finn? You work here?" her voice was full of surprise.  
"Yeah, since like a week! What can I get you?" he smiled.  
"Uh, one gin and tonic and a Corona, please!"  
"You here with a friend?"

Right on time, Jesse appeared next to his 'girlfriend'.  
"Finn, what's up, dude?" said Jesse, trying to be the very embodiment of masculinity.  
"Not much, just working, you know... Here's your beer." Finn's disappointed was noticeable.  
"Thanks, bro." Rachel shot Jesse a look. He was over-doing it.  
"Well, we should probably let you get back to your work," said Rachel. "Talk to you later, maybe?"  
"Yeah, sure, have a nice night, guys."

They walked away from Finn, and Rachel swatted Jesse's arm. "'Bro?' Jesse, I know you're pretending to be straight, but 'bro'? C'mon..." Rachel laughed.  
"Whatever, can I have my drink now?"  
Rachel swapped the Corona in his hands for the gin and tonic in hers. "I hate beer." he commented. "So, what does being your boyfriend entail tonight?"  
"Well, as you've refused to kiss me, how about just some close-up dancing?"

"That I can do." he tugged Rachel's arm and led her out into the dance floor. They held hands and moved back and forth, Rachel laughing loudly. She glanced over towards Finn, who wasn't watching, or so it seemed. "Want to get his attention?" teased Jesse. Rachel nodded. The beat of the music pulsed loudly as if pumping adrenaline through their veins. Suddenly, Jesse swept Rachel off her feet and held her up in the air, their bodies touching. She shrieked adorably as she slid back down slowly, Jesse pulling her back down, their bodies gliding against each other. "Lucky I'm not straight, or I'd be seriously turned on right now."  
"Even if you were, you're lucky I'm turned off by douchebags, or so would I." she grinned. Jessie twirled her around quickly as to keep up the romantic façade.

-Finchel-

Finn was speechless. He'd just glanced in Rachel's direction only to see her having the time of her life with her _boyfriend. _Their bodies were all close together, which admittedly, made him jealous. The fact that Jesse could dance so well made him angry too. They would never be able to dance like that, as Finn was hardly a dancer. He was filled with jealousy and couldn't stand looking at them anymore. The next thing he was filled with was regret. _Why did I leave her without saying goodbye all those years ago? Why didn't I let her know sooner that I still loved her? Why did I ever let her go?_

Deciding he couldn't concentrate, Finn took his break to sit on the other side of the bar. He contemplated making Rachel jealous with another girl, but then realized she wouldn't get jealous. She didn't love _him _anymore. She loved Jesse. It was his own fault; he should've held onto the girl he'd loved since he was sixteen years old.

But if she wasn't interested, why had she given him her phone number? He decided that he'd make good use of her number and send her a text. He typed 'you look gorgeous.' before tapping the 'send' button. He watched as she took her phone out of her bag and read his message. She blushed. _Hmm, _he thought, _maybe he hadn't lost her as much as he'd thought. _He smiled at her, and a thought struck his head. He had to get Rachel to want to fall in love with him again, whatever it took.


End file.
